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Geer1

Have you been to Thailand before? 1 week won't be near enough for really anything unless you are only really wanting to see a certain place in particular. With so little time in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand you will pretty much have to fly multiple times to make your trip comfortable imo. If you are capable of staying longer and really want to see most of what these places have to offer I would suggest 3-4 weeks in Vietnam, 2 weeks in Cambodia, 1-2 weeks in Laos and probably 3+ weeks in Thailand.

Planning section on here has some good information on places and suggested itineraries etc, looking through some other threads will help give you more info as well. Can't help all that much when we don't know what you are hoping to see and get out of your trip etc. I recommend looking into the main places getting an idea on what you want to see/where you want to go then post that up and we can help you finer tune details and offer other ideas you may not know about.

Geer1

Since you have already been to Thailand I might consider skipping it to have more time in the other countries if you haven't been to them before. Otherwise I would probably cut out Laos since the travel time/costs won't be worth it for only 1 week imo. That would give you decent time for Cambodia and Vietnam while giving you your week in Thailand.

It would be possible to see a fair bit of those countries with the time you have posted but you will be fairly rushed and will have to fly multiple times to make things comfortable.

caseyprich

If you want to go to Thailand for the islands - you can just skip it as you can get the island feel in either Vietnam (Phu Quoc) or a couple different places in Cambodia.

A lot of your plan can depend on where you are flying in and out of for SE Asia. Will you be booking a return ticket from your original destination so that you have to circle back, or are you planning and arrival/departure in different parts of the region? If the later - then maybe keep thailand on the agenda as you're best bets for cheap international airfare are BKK, Saigon and Hanoi .

I agree with Geer about Laos - with only a week you'd probably want to hit the highlights of Luang Prabang and dip down to Vientiane , but you'll really want to fly if you're going to do that, and that could make for a rather strange route. Though, if you end up having to circle back to say Hanoi for a return flight it wouldn't be terrible to work down through Vietnam and Cambodia and then fly up to Luang Prabang or Vientiane for a week before catching another flight back to Hanoi.

Overall, cut either Thailand or Laos out for sure and this gives you more time in Vietnam and a few days to add somewhere else.

MADMAC

Joined Travelfish6th June, 2009Posts: 6566Total reviews: 10

"I understand your comments about time but we only have 6 weeks so will have to make do with that."

Carzyyy, Casey wasn't suggesting you somehow acquire more time. He was suggesting you reduce your itinerary. 6 weeks? Two coutries at the most. Slow down and smell the coffee and enjoy yourself. Things move slow here, but that's part of the charm.